Battery Charger?

[Rich Farr]

Our 79 Newell has a 80Amp converter (battery charger\DC power supply) and today (when main batteries were dead) we discovered that it only charges coach battery (in front) - not the ones that start the engine (in the back).

Is there a heavy duty splitter (or some other option) to charge all batteries from the converter (and engine driven alternator) - and still separate the coach load from main engine batteries?
Thanks in advance.

[TechTalk]

Your coach has a three-position rocker switch on the instrument panel labeled "Merge." With the rocker switch in the center position, the coach and engine start batteries are isolated, with the converter/charger charging only the house batteries and the alternator charging only the engine start batteries. With this switch pushed in at the top or bottom, the batteries will be interconnected through an electric solenoid located on the electrical terminal panel at the right rear corner of the coach. When merged, either the converter charger or the alternator will charge both the house and the engine start batteries. The solenoid has a limited life and we recommend replacement annually.

[John Clark]

Rich:
You might want to check out the new inverter/charger units on the market (Xantrex,Trace etc.) Most of them use a 3 step charging process that really saves your batteries versus the converters one step process. As an added benefit, you can watch your TV, use the microwave, etc., without firing up the generator. It's also nice to leave the ice maker on while traveling, as the engines alternator will keep the house batteries charged going down the road.

I owned a 79 for 8 years and my single most important suggestion would be to keep your 12v electrical connections clean, especially the ground wires. Also, read carefully Newell's Tech staff's last sentence, you can't trouble shoot a bad solenoid with a voltmeter (amps are where the power is; 13.75 volts mean nothing without the amperage flow to support it